Thoughts by Dr. Steven Bruns

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Leadership Lesson from the Trump Administration

The Trump administration has certainly moved with great effort and rapidity since taking office. I usually do not comment on political issues as such, but I was caught by one item that I could not shake.

The issue is the temporary halt to refugees and/or immigrants from seven specific countries. Many have labeled this a Muslim ban. Many have taken issue with that characterization. I am not going to comment on the policy decision in and of itself, but rather how the administration has reacted to the responses to it.

First, I am amazed that the administration would use the “lemmings” defense for justification of the executive order. This is also knows in my house as the “six-year-old” defense. It goes like this:

Everyone else is doing it. Why can’t we?

Rather than make a decision and stick to it, the administration pointed to all of the other administrations that have also enacted similar policies to try and justify its actions. This is actually not the mark of strong leadership. (I was also amazed at how the Obama team won its first election on the “Bob the Builder” platform of Yes we can!, but that is for another time.)

Actually, this response shows the real leadership lesson I wanted to point out. When a leader makes a decision, it is not just the decision itself that is debated or analyzed. It is the perceived character or intention behind the decision that is debated. The fact that other administrations may or may not have made similar decisions and did not face the same repercussions in the public sphere is exactly the point. It is not just the policy that is in question, it is the intention and character of the person creating the policy that is the concern.

For leaders at any level in any organization, whether it is civil service or the church, our character matters. Our character matters even more than our decisions at times. This is because we can make all the right decisions our entire lives, but if people suspect our character of being self-serving or antagonistic or hateful, they will not agree with the decisions on principle.

The Trump administration has reminded me of this leadership lesson every time I turn on the news. My character counts in my leadership and my decision making.